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OrangeCounty is a hilarious, heartwarming movie centered around a book that changed one young man’s life. Shaun, played by Colin Hanks, is a disillusioned high school senior from, of course, Orange County, California. After his best friend is killed by a 20-foot wave in a hurricane surfing accident, Shaun starts to think “maybe there’s more to life than extreme sports and trying to get laid.”

As Shaun is sitting on the beach one day, he finds a book buried in the sand that makes him see things differently. He decides he wants to be a writer (instead of a professional surfer). He takes off on a mission to find the book’s author, a writing professor at Stanford University, and immediately sends his application to go to Stanford in the fall. Through a series of unfortunate yet hilarious events, Shaun, an A+ student, doesn’t get accepted to Stanford. He drives to Stanford with his burnout brother (Jack Black), who accidentally drugs the Dean of Admissions and burns down a campus building. But just as Shaun is about to lose hope, he runs into the professor unexpectedly and learns a few things about writing and life that he never expected.

Through Shaun’s struggle to find inspiration, he realizes it’s been there all along. Orange County is a must-see for any aspiring writer, published author, and anyone who’s ever had an epiphany from a particular book. Haven’t we all? Check out a clip from Shaun’s impromptu meeting with Dr. Skinner below:

“Don’t be afraid of that. You are a good writer. And every good writer has a conflicted relationship with the place he grew up…Joyce, Faulkner, Tolstoy. That’s what I love about your story. It’s very conflicted. At the beginning, you think these people are doomed, this family’s heading for disaster. Then as you read on, you see beneath the surface there exist these very real connections, these deep relationships. What I took from your story is this: Even in a world where people can be superficial and stupid and selfish…there’s still hope.” -Dr. Marcus Skinner, Orange County

Andy Warhol, legendary American artist of the 1970s, is known for his pop-art prints and out-of-the-box mentality. He directed and produced Blue Movie in 1969, an artistic film expressing human sexuality.

Can you guess which vintage book this is from the illustration? Comment on Facebook with your answer and share the post! Winner will receive a $10 Codeless Coupon to the PayIT4Ward Bookstore. Winner will be selected at random at 5pm today, May 15th.

UPDATE- ALL correct answers to our Facebook contest will receive a prize! Just visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PayIT4WardBooks and guess the title of the vintage book pictured below.

When you buy an antique or collectible book, it’s important to know what exactly you’re getting. Condition tend to vary, so knowing the terminology used to describe the different parts of an antique book is essential for collectors, or anyone looking to expand their bookshelf! Here’s a brief rundown of some common terms used by book sellers when they describe a vintage book:

Antiquarian: An antiquarian book means it fits into the “collectible” genre. This term suggests that the book was printed years or centuries ago and is generally quite rare.

Advanced Copy or ARC (Advanced Review Copy): A copy of the book that was published prior to the known publication date for reviewers and sellers.

Backstrip: Material that covers the spine of the book.

Binding: The complete cover of the book, which includes the backstrip/spine.

Book Club Edition: A specialized reprint of the book’s 1st Edition. Some Book Club Editions may be condensed.

Covers: The front, back and spine of the book – i.e, the complete binding of the book.

Dust Jacket (DJ): Hardcover books are sold either with or without a Dust Jacket. A Dust Jacket (DJ) refers to the paper artwork that covers the book’s exterior. Hardcover books are much more valuable when a Dust Jacket is included. Depending on the condition of the Dust Jacket, the book’s value increases by about 35-100%. A book in excellent condition with an intact dust jacket can double in value.

Ephemera: A written or printed documentoriginally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity. Most paper ephemera are quite rare because of this. “Paper Ephemera” refers to pamphets, booklets, brochures, playbills and other vintage items.

1st Edition: The first available printed copy of a collectible book.

Foxed / Foxing: Foxing refers to a chemical reaction that causes brownish staining or spotting of the papers. Foxing is usually seeing in older books (19th century or before) with steel engravings.

Fray: Loose threads in a book with a cloth overlay that emerge from the cover or backstrip.

Gilding: Refers to a decorative overlay to the book’s cover or binding, usually gold or silver, to give it a more alluring appearance.

Illustration: Any type of picture, design, graphic, map, or diagram printed within the text of the book. Note the book’s illustrator along with the author.

Impression: This term refers to the number of copies during a particular press run

Library-Bound: A book produced for libraries or schools; generally with a more durable binding

Limited Edition: Refers to a publication that has been restricted to a small amount of copies for a specific audience

Marbled: Paper decorated with an imitation marble pattern.

Mint Condition: Book’s condition is like new; as in the same day as publication

No Date (ND): The book shows no publication date, or the date is unknown.

Surimono – or 摺物, in Japanese – are a type of Japanese woodblock print. These gorgeous works of art were created privately for special occasions in Japanese culture, such as the New Year. They were created by various notable artists from about the 1790s to the 1830s, and the artist needed a great deal of technical skill to create the detail necessary to produce Surimono. The prints were created with shading and “floating” color for beautiful texture and lifelike depth, using gold, silver and copper in the final product.

The name “Surimono” literally translates to “printed thing”. The prints were created in very small numbers for highly educated people in Japan. Surimono prints were often more experimental in subject matter and artwork methods, yet more extravagant in printing technique, than commercial prints. They were often used by Japenese poetry societies as an award for the winning poem in poetry contests.Kabukiactors also commissioned surimono prints to commemorate important events in their careers, such as name changes or stage debuts of their son.

The antique book Surimono Prints by Elbow Edith Polster and Alfred H, Mark showcases various illustrations and poetry by artists and writers notable in Surimono. This limited edition art book includes a selection of beautiful prints with 541 captioned illustrations of woodblock prints, accompanied by poetry and descriptions. Includes contributions from artists such as Eisen, Gakutei, Gekko, Hiroshige, Hokusai, Hokkei, Kosai, Kosetsu, Kunimasa, Kuninori, Masunobo, Matora, and Rinsai, with by Shashofuku Michizure, Isosuzu Kawabito and more.

Are you “proper”, according to the old English definition? Probably not.

Mrs. Grundy: Studies in English Prudery is an entertaining and informative read by Peter Fryer that takes a deeper look at the extreme beliefs towards sexuality and censorship in the past. His notes go as far back as the 1300s, and some of the information is outlandish and downright hilarious.

Fryer’s account begins with the spoken word. The first few chapters trace the changing words considered to be proper. For example, the word “belly”, which gradually was replaced by “stomach” in the 1300s. It was taboo to say “belly” – in fact, according to the text, “Respectable Englishwomen” were seriously offended, even by doctors, who used the word. Fryer includes stories of Doctors unable to treat patients who couldn’t tell him which “limb” was hurting because they refused to use the necessary words to describe parts of the body!

These stories are laughable in modern times – but it’s important to remember that self-censorship certainly still exists today, particularly in radically conservative groups. We might like to think of our own beliefs as far superior to medieval values, but much remains the same more often than we like to think.